Permission to Love
by adr13
Summary: An alternate ending to Siren call. This is my first LO:CI story. Reviews are greatly appreciated, but be nice. Please read and review. Chapter 5 has been rewritten, so if you have read before, it is different.
1. Chapter 1

LO:CI Siren Call

I own nothing

* * *

"I let her go because I don't want to kill her." Ray Wizneski shouted, his gun pointed steadily at Goren. "I want to kill you, then myself."

Goren felt a wave of panic rising in his gut. This was quickly spiraling out of control. He was hard to talk down, he was so angry and determined. He had to find another way to get him to surrender. Maybe he should just try to rush him. He was startled when the suspended cop tossed a cell phone at him.

"Here, call your mom, say goodbye." Wizneski said.

Too late, this is it. Time to change tactics. He threw the phone back. "Come on Ray!"

His brain was working over time. The daughter... "Emily." he called.

"Shut up." Ray warned, stepping closer.

"Eames," he began. The rest of his sentence died on his lips as Wizneski fired the weapon.

Goren's body jerked as the bullet ripped into his chest. He lurched and fell as a quick second shot lodged in him as well. He landed heavily, jarring the wounds. His vision grayed as he heard a third shot. He heard a commotion and saw a dim outline. "Eames." he whispered.

* * *

Alex Eames had just sent the daughter away when she heard the raised voices from inside. Wizneski's mental state worried her. She was more worried about her partner who was still inside with him. But she was confident that Bobby would defuse the situation.

"Emily?" she heard Goren call. What was he trying? "Eames?"

His voice sounded off, something was wrong. She was about to answer when two shots rang out. Her heart nearly stopped at the sound of a body hitting the floor. "Bobby!" her shout was drowned out by a third shot.

Wizneski's wife and daughter rushed her, crying and shouting questions.

"Calm down!" Eames shouted over them. She didn't want to open the door to the unknown in front of the wife and a thirteen year old girl. "Please, go and call an ambulance."

After they turned, she burst into the room to ugly sight. Officer Ray Wizneski, husband and father, bleeding from his head. He had shot himself.

A ragged gasp brought her out of her shock. "Eames..."

Eames gasped, seeing her partner's body sprawled on the floor. Blood oozed steadily from the wounds. She knelt by him, her sees quickly taking in the damage. One was high on his chest, the other, just right of center. She fought down the panic that threatened to over take her. She check his pulse out. It was weak. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be unconscious.

"Hang on Bobby." she quickly waded up her jacket and shoved it against the wounds to stave off the blood. Her brain only thought one thing, _ he can't die, he can't die, he can't die._ Her own heart was pounding so hard, she almost didn't hear his groan of pain.

Goren's jaw clenched against the fiery pain that had spread through his torso. His large hands gripped her wrists, nearly shoving her off. His eyes opened slightly and met hers.

She was startled to see the brown eyes were already glazed with shock. "Stay with me Bobby, the medics are on the way."

Goren's chest heaved from the effort of trying to breathe with the pressure that Eames was putting on it. He wanted badly to give into the swirling darkness, but Eames' gentle commands kept him awake. He could feel an internal pressure building inside. He gasped in enough air to speak. "I couldn't stop him."

Eames hushed him as he coughed, forcing a thin line of blood to trickle over his cheek. "Try not to talk."

She heard sirens outside. Several local cops rushed the house, shocked to find their comrade dead in his office.

"What happened?" one shouted at Eames.

Eames' temper flared. "He shot my partner and killed himself!"

They would have argued but the evidence was clear in front of them. One knelt and assisted Eames in controlling the bleeding.

"Someone find out where that ambulance is!" Eames shouted the command. She didn't look to see who obeyed. Goren's coughing and gasping became more frantic drew her attention back to him. She lifted him to where his head and chest rested on her lap, easing his breathing.

"Alex..." Goren's voice was barely a whisper.

Eames was scared. He never used her first name. Her voice cracked when she spoke. "Hang on Bobby, don't talk. You'll be fine."

She was assuring herself more than him. She placed a comforting hand on his head, relishing the soft feel of his hair. She couldn't stand to lose him. He couldn't die. He just couldn't.

Bobby stared up at her, pain filling his brown eyes. She was so pretty, even when her face was tight with worry. He didn't like the fear he saw in her eyes, fear for him. He longed to tell her not to worry, that it would be OK, that he loved her. He couldn't draw a breath to say what he wanted. He passed out, his body going limp.

No, no, no. Not again. She thought. Eames let out the breath she didn't know she's been holding when she felt the pulse under her fingers. She saw the ambulance arrive. Finally.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Goren briefly regained consciousness in the ER. Pain radiated outwards from his chest. His brain barely computed what was happening around him. Doctors and nurses was surrounding him, poking prodding, prodding and calling to each other.

One nurse noticed that him awake, softly choking. "Just relax, don't try to talk. You have a tube down your throat."

"Can you hear me Detective?" another shined a light into his eyes.

Goren adverted his eyes, finding that he wasn't able to move his head because of the ET tube. As his vision dimmed, he noticed a uniform standing in the room, no mask, no gloves.

As the man looked at him, he had the strange feeling that he knew the man, but he hadn't met him. He slipped back into oblivion.

* * *

Eames sat in the waiting room, her head resting against the wall. She had been waiting for what felt like hours. She had called Captain Ross as soon as they had arrived in the hospital. He was now dealing with the locals. Her eyes closed against her will, then her brain flashed back to the ambulance ride.

_They had loaded Goren in the ambulance almost as soon as they had seen him. That was not a good sign. She had barely managed to jump in before the doors were slammed and they roared away, sirens blaring and lights flashing. _

_The medic in the back had his hands full, checking vitals and calling them out to the driver who, in turn, radioed it to the hospital. The medic, whose name badge read Marks, cut away Goren's shirt and tie. Then placed thick pads of gauze over the wounds. _

"_I think his lung collapsed." Marks called to the driver, moving the stethoscope around. "Call it in."_

_Eames held her breath as she listened to them talk. No wonder his breathing was so difficult. She watched Marks place the oxygen mask over his face. She reached forward and gingerly placed her hand on his shoulder, afraid to cause him more pain. "Hang on Bobby, we're almost there."_

_Marks started to place an I.V. When Goren's body suddenly stiffened, then started jerking against the restraints. His breath was jerky and irregular. _

"_What's happening?" Eames shouted._

_Marks was busy yanking apart the straps. "He's having a seizure. Help me turn him on his side."_

_He was heavy! Eames thought as they flipped him. Even though the medic had left the strap over his ankle, they struggled to keep him on the gurney as the ambulance took two corners close together. The convulsing stopped as they reached the hospital._

Eames shook herself out of the memory, the awful image of his bloody body convulsing against them. She looked down at her clothes that were smeared with red. She adjusted her coat to keep it covered. Ross had promised to bring her bag from the SUV as soon as he could get away. In the mean time she just had to make due.

An eternity later, a tall woman in a lab coat stepped into the room. "Detective Eames?"

Eames practically flew out of her chair at the woman. "Yes? That's me."

"I'm Dr. Carter." she dispensed with the rest of the formalities. She was used to dealing with cops. "Detective Goren is out of surgery."

"How is he?" Eames interrupted.

"He is touch and go right now." Dr Carter explained. "One bullet went completely through him. That one did the least damage. The other entered his chest, breaking a rib and puncturing his lung, collapsing a part of it. But we got it re inflated. The next 24 hours will be critical, but he could recover completely."

"Thank God." Eames sighed. "What about the seizure?"

"It's strange, but it does happen some times." Dr. Carter looked up as her name was paged.

"Can I see him?" It was more of a demand than a request.

The doctor lead her back to the ICU. "Take the all the time you need."

Eames nodded her thanks and stepped in the room. She pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back her emotions. She'd never seen him look like this before, he looked so helpless.

Goren's large body seemed to dwarf the bed he lay in. Multiple wires snaked from under the thin hospital gown to different monitors. A chest tube had been inserted to help inflate the lung. The whoosh of the ventilator and the beeping of the heart monitor provided the only sound in the room.

"Oh Bobby..." she moved a chair closer to the bed and sat down. She noticed that the IV had been inserted to his left hand. _That will need to be changed, he'll yank it out in ten seconds._ She touched his arm startled to find it cold. He was so pale.

It was wrong to see him so still. He was always moving. Even if he was sitting at a desk, he was bouncing his leg or something. Always in motion. She smiled briefly. Maybe that's how she stayed so thin, always trying to keep up.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Goren felt as if he were tied down, restrained in a heavy cloak of darkness. He couldn't open his eyes. They felt as if there were weighed down with center blocks. He tried to fight his way out, but the smothering the heaviness wrapped itself tightly around him and refused to let him out. He could hear a voice, an echo almost, calling to him.

"Bobby!" it was Eames. "Bobby wake up, please."

"Eames, where are you?" he tried to call but no sound left his throat.

"Wake up." she called again.

The more he struggled, the further into darkness he fell. He gave up and allowed the darkness to hold him.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Eames decided to get a quick shower and change her clothes. One of the nurses had offered the hospital shower to her since she was a cop. She found it hard to leave the room, but was going stir crazy with all the waiting. They told her he was doing better. But they were keeping him on the ventilator to help his lung heal.

Now, two days after the shooting, she entered his room and was glad to see that he looked more alive than he did yesterday. Now if he would just wake up. She resumed her place at his side. She took the time to really study him. His hair was starting to gray a little, giving him a more distinguished look. There were dark smudges under his eyes that reveled how tired he'd been since the Gage case. She never realized how toned his torso was, he kept it hidden under his suit coat. He must lift weights.

"Come on Bobby, open your eyes for me." she asked. "Or move or twitch. Just let me know that you are in there."

Eames paused, feeling a little silly. It didn't matter how many people or articles that said talking to comatose patients helps them improve, it didn't keep you from feeling dumb. Besides, he wasn't in a coma, that she knew of.

She reached over the bed and straightened the sheet around him. She was careful not to bump the chest tube that was inserted into his right side or the IV that was still in his left hand, despite the fact that she had asked the nurse to move it. She brushed her fingers through his hair, enjoying the softness of the curls.

She had sat across the desk from him for years and never touched him. Even though she had wanted to on many occasions. The only contact she'd ever had with him was when ever he got to close to the edge and he needed to back off.

He had always been there for her. He never seemed to get angry with her, even when she had been forced to basically humiliate him in court last year. Instead of exploding at her or ignoring her, he had offered to take her out for drinks.

She sighed, trying to organize her thoughts. She was tempted to wave coffee under his nose to see if that would work. She jumped as a voice behind her spoke.

"I don't think I have ever seen him that still."

Eames turned to see their former captain, Deakins, standing in the door way. She smiled, happy to see him here. "Cap- Deakins, Hi."

Deakins smiled at the slip up. "Old habits die hard?"

"Something like that." she answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened yesterday." Deakins moved inside the room and leaned against the wall. "How is he?"

"Honestly I don't know." Eames rubbed her face tiredly. "He's bad, but they said he should recover. They say he is getting stronger, but hasn't woken up from the surgery. It's been two days."

"Sounds like doctors, afraid to give a straight answer. What happened?"

Eames gave him an abbreviated version of what had transpired. She didn't know exactly what had happened inside the room, but she had seen the end result. Now she prayed that she wouldn't lose Bobby because of it.

Deakins pretended not to notice the tears that threatened to escape Eames' eyes. He looked away quickly as not to embarrass her. He changed the subject. "So how is the new captain working out?"

"He's OK. He doesn't trust quickly." Eames replied.

"Let me guess, he's already told you to keep a leash on Goren?" Deakins stated.

Eames nodded with a slight smile. _As if any one could leash him. _

"Although you were the best at keeping him in line." he mused out loud.

"Only because he lets me." she countered. "No one forces Goren to do anything he doesn't want to do."

Deakins nearly snorted. "Ain't that the truth."

There was a long pause before Deakins spoke. "I can sit with him for a while if you need to take a break."

Eames shook her head. "No, I need to stay here with him."

He expected nothing less. He nodded. "I'm going to get us some coffee."

"That would be great." She agreed. "I need a pick me up."

* * *

Goren still floated in the darkness. He had given up struggling against its heavy pull. He was so tired.

"Goren, wake up." An unfamiliar voice commanded.

Goren opened his eyes, seeing only the fuzzy outline of a man standing over him. "Who are you?"

"I think you already know that answer."

Goren gasped as the man in front of him became clear. He'd seen the man before, in the ER before he passed out, also in a picture at Eames' house. It was her dead husband, Joe Dutton! "Am I dead?"

"No. Just unconscious."

"I'm hallucinating." Goren muttered, his eyes searched for a way out of the nothingness. All he saw was the blond uniform.

"Why? Because you're crazy?" Dutton asked, his face emotionless.

Goren glared at him. He despised anyone calling him that.

"You have to tell her." Dutton said. "Tell her how you feel."

Bobby gave him a guarded look. "What do you mean?"

"It's OK to tell her, her answer will surprise you." he repeated.

Goren started to protest when he interrupted.

"Wake up now." Dutton started to fade away. "You're scarring her."

Goren was alone once again in the abyss. He had to escape this mess.

* * *

Eames woke slowly, her brain unwilling to leave its restful slumber. What woke her? It was long dark outside. Deakins had left around dinner time to meet his wife. NYPD had been in and out through out the day, but had now stopped. They were alone until the next nurse decides to come in.

Something was different, something had woke her. That's when she had noticed it, Goren had moved! His head had faced away from her and now it was tilted towards her. She leaned forward and squeezed his hand.

"Bobby? Open your eyes." she urged . She held her breath in anticipation. "Come on Bobby."

His eyes fluttered with the effort before snapping open.

"Bobby!" Eames could have shouted with joy. It was short-lived.

Seconds after waking up he choked against the tube in his throat. His hand flew towards his mouth, intent on pulling the ET tube out. Eames quickly intercepted his hand before he could wrap his fingers around it. "No Bobby, don't do that."

If he recognized her, he gave no indication as he tried to shove her off, while reaching up with the other hand to try again. She stumbled a moment before catching both his wrists.

"Calm down, you're in a hospital." Eames tried to calm her thrashing partner before he hurt himself. She tried to pin his arms across his torso without hurting him. But he was too big, she was loosing ground. She turned her head to the door. "Someone help me!"

Eames struggled to hold him still. If he managed to get his legs under him, it was all over. She noticed blood on his hand and realized that he had pulled the IV out, like she said he would.

Moments later a nurse ran in, calling for an orderly.

"Is he having a seizure?" she asked.

"No, he's freaking out." Eames said over the choking sounds. She hated the sound already, it made her heart hurt. "He woke up."

"Restrain him." the nurse called to the orderlies. She prepared a sedative.

The men grabbed his arms from Eames and pinned them to the mattress as they placed the restrains on his wrists. Goren was weak, but still had enough strength to combat the hospital staff, his mind thinking that he was under attack.

Eames, who had been knocked away from the bed, pushed her way to the head of the bed and grabbed Goren's face, forcing him to look at her. "Bobby! Listen to me."

As his eyes locked with hers, she saw the pain and fear in them. She saw a flash of recognition. Jeez she wished he would stop making that noise. "You were shot. You're in the hospital. Stop fighting us. Let the machines breathe for you. Relax."

The nurse had the needle in hand, ready to inject it into his shoulder.

Eames waved her off, she could see that it was working. He stopped thrashing and forced himself to relax. The beeping on the heart monitor slowed to a normal pace. She brushed her fingers over his cheek. "That's it, don't fight it."

When the gagging noise stopped, Eames turned to the nurse. "Can we get the restrains off?"

The nurse, who was taller and bigger than Eames, refused saying that the doctor needed to see him first.

"She's on her way." the nurse took the vitals, but stepped back quickly when she was done.

Eames rolled her eyes at her and leaned close to his ear. "I think you scared the help."

Dr. Carter came in less than a minute later. She smiled when she saw him awake. "Oh, decided to join us?"

Goren gave the restrains a yank plainly saying to get them off.

"I will look at that in a moment." She crossed to the bed. She began checking his heart and breath sounds. "I need you to step out of the room."

Eames wanted to tell her to shove it, but moved to comply.

Goren saw her moving and jerked the restraints noisily. The choking noises started again. He shook his heard as best he could.

"I think he wants me to stay." Eames noticed him stop when she spoke. She planted herself at the head of the bed where she was close and out-of-the-way. She placed a comforting hand in his arm. "And he's left-handed."

The doctor sighed and ignored her. She called for a sterile IV then turned back to her patient. She held his head still so she could shine the light in his eyes. When she was satisfied with the vitals, she unsnapped the gown and checked on the chest tube. He groaned when she adjusted it slightly. "I can't believe you didn't pull this out."

Eames tried not to stare as the doctor conducted her exam. He was a private person, but at the same time he had wanted her there. She could see two bandages, the larger one covered the surgery site where they had to dig out the bullet and repair the tears in his lung. That would take a bit of recovery. He's going to love that.

Dr. Carter reattached the IV, this time to his right arm. She rubbed his arm when she finished, causing a brief, unexplainable flair of jealousy in Eames. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

He tried to nod.

"We'll take care of that. I will be right back." Dr. Carter stepped out of the room.

Eames tried to smile when Goren looked at her. She was suddenly at a loss for words. So many emotions were swirling through her. How could she tell him how she felt? He could probity explain it way with his textbook talk. She took advantage of the situation and caressed his cheek and hair when he couldn't say anything. He didn't seem to hate it. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.

Dr. Carter came back into the room. She injected the pain killers into the IV. "Rest now, tomorrow we will run tests and see about the ET tube."

The drugs worked quickly and Goren fell into a light slumber.

Eames took that moment to call Deakin and Capitan Ross with the news that he was awake. She sat back down, finally able to relax now that he had woken up.

* * *

**(Don't worry, there is more to come)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

They left him in the restraints the rest of the night. She understood the need for them, if Bobby ripped the tube out, it could damage his throat. But she wished that the doctor would have just told him that. Instead, she had given him the pain killers, gave a brief explanation to Eames and left for the evening.

Goren slept soundly through the rest of the night and woke by instinct at six the next morning. Eames was still asleep in the chair. She looked uncomfortable the way she was curled up in it.

He longed to touch her, but the annoying Velcro cuffs were still attached to his wrists. He could feel the plastic tube in his throat. He wanted it out. Now. He also knew he was facing a bunch of tests before its removal. More than wanting it out for comfort, he wanted it gone so he could talk to Eames. He needed to tell her.

He didn't remember much from when he had woken up before. He remembered the pain and the choking. He remembered Eames voice breaking through his haze of pain. He remembered her touch. Her stroking his hair, his face. He loved it and hadn't wanted her to stop.

He wished she was awake to talk to him. But he was not selfish enough to wake her. He closed his eyes to wait.

Eames woke late in the morning, the clock showed that it was after eight. She smiled when she saw Goren awake and looking at her.

"Hey Bobby." she rubbed his arm. "I told Ross that I would come in today and do the paper work on this mess. When they come to get you, I'm going to head over to 1PP.

Goren was unhappy with the announcement. But he couldn't stop her. He held her hand tightly until the nurse orderlies came in.

"Good morning Mr. Goren. Time to get started on some tests and x-rays." the nurse said.

Eames gave him a smile and squeezed his hand. "I'll see you later."

* * *

Eames was so tired that she almost fell asleep in the elevator. She exited on the 11th floor and went to her desk. Before she had fully sat down, Mike Logan came over to her.

"How is he doing?" He asked.

"He woke up last night." she told him. "I think he is better. I left when they took him for tests."

Logan nodded. Knowing how tired she was, he turned back towards his desk. "Keep me updated."

Eames wasn't surprised to find the forms she needed already sitting on the desk top. She sighed and started working on them.

An hour later she gathered everything up and walked it into Ross' office. "All finished Capitan."

Ross looked over it quickly. "Thanks for coming in. IA was starting to breathe down my neck."

"Anything else sir?" she asked. She didn't care what IA wanted. He partner had been shot.

"Yes." Ross looked up. "How's your partner?"

_Your partner. Never Goren, or Bobby. Always **your partner.**_ "Better, I think. They are running tests on him now. He is still weak, so he can't have a lot of visitors."

"Note, I'll pass that along. Keep me posted." Ross gave her a once over as she turned to leave. "And Eames,"

She turned back. "Yes, Capitan?"

"Go home and get some sleep. You're no good to yourself or him right now."

Eames nodded and decided to obey this time. She would only rest an hour then go back to the hospital. She made the long drive home and reacquainted herself with her bed.

Some time later she woke up when her stomach rumbled loudly from hunger. She rolled over and looked at her clock. Four hours had passed since she had laid down. _Great, Bobby is probably going crazy._

She pulled herself out of bed and made herself something to eat. Then she quickly showered and dressed. _ When this is all over I am taking a long bath..._ She pulled into the hospital nearly six hours after she had left that morning.

When she entered the room, she found her partner asleep. The ET tube was gone, a nasal canula was in its place, and the restraints were gone as well. She was glad of that. His color was a lot better than before.

Goren sensed her presence and opened his eyes. He smiled when he saw her. "You're late." he rasped.

"The captain ordered me home to sleep. I didn't mean to stay that long." Eames explained.

"Thats OK, you deserved it." Goren pressed the button to raise his bed into a sitting position. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the dizziness to pass.

"You OK?" Eames asked, touching his arm.

He smiled. She noticed everything. "I'm OK, just a little dizzy."

"Then put the bed back down." she reached for the button to lower is back down.

Goren knocked her hand away and held it tightly. "No, leave it. I'm tired of laying down."

"You're a stubborn ox." she said fondly. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." He answered frankly.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, concerned creeping into her voice.

He shook his head. "No."

She could see that he was still really weak. It was not lost on her that movements or talking to long caused him to grimace in pain. But there was something else in his eyes too, something she couldn't read. She took a step out on a limb. "Bobby, Wizneski shooting himself was not your fault."

"Eames.."

"I'm serious. He would have done it even if we hadn't gone down to talk to him." She continued.

"Alex." His voice was quiet when he spoke. "I don't want to talk about it."

She nodded, already feeling his walls going up. "OK Bobby, I'm not going to force you to say anything. But I'm here when you're ready."

He nodded. He was so tired. His chest hurt a lot, but he didn't want to ask for more drugs. He didn't like the way they made him feel.

"What did the doctor say after the tests?" She changed the subject. Hoping to keep from being shut out completely.

"Dr. Carter said that I was breathing well enough to remove the breathing tube. They wanted to leave the chest tube in for another day or so."

"Anything else?" she prodded.

"Not to move around too much, or try to get up." Goren was starting to fade. "That I wasn't out of the woods yet."

"OK Bobby, why don't you rest?" Eames suggested.

"Stay with me?"

Eames couldn't decipher the tone in his voice nor the look in his eye. He was keeping something from her, if she could only figure out what. She cupped his cheek with her hand, her thumb rubbing over his skin. "Oh course I'll stay."

Goren gave her a weak smile before drifting off. He fell into a dream filled slumber.

Eames went home and slept in her own bed that night. She slept soundly knowing that he was out of the worst of it.

* * *

Ross managed to convince Eames to take the rest of her time off that she should have used from the Gage case. She had wanted to go back to the hospital but got stuck running errands that had been previously forgotten.

It was nearly one when she parked once again at the hospital. On the way there she had stopped at Goren's apartment and picked up somethings that he might want.

His keen eyes honed in on the bag as she walked in. "What did you bring me?"

Eames moved the bag to the bed. "I brought your comb, tooth-brush, pajamas, and most importantly." she reached into the bottom of the bag and whipped out a thick book.

He snatched it from her hand. "Thank goodness. There is nothing to do here but sleep."

Eames bit her lip as his movements caused him wince. "That is what you are supposed to do in the hospital."

Goren was already flipping the pages. "If that were so they wouldn't wake you every 10 minutes to poke you."

She didn't have an answer for that. "Did you have any visitors today?"

He nodded, rubbing at his chest absent mindedly. "A few from MCS came by."

Eames didn't have to worry about it for too long. After ten minutes of reading the book, he fell asleep. She relieved him of the book and placed in back on the floor. He still thinks he's a superman. She adjusted his cannulae and the sheets. He was able to sleep for a few hours before visitors began to stream in and out. Capitan Ross came by as well, glad to see his officer awake and alert.

He was just finishing up taking his statement when there was a knock at the door. Deakins stuck his head in. "Is this a bad time?"

Goren smiled at the sight of his old friend and colleague. "Capitan, come in."

Deakins came in, standing behind Eames. "I think you can call me Jim now." he looked over to Ross and nodded. "You must be Capitan Ross."

Ross shook hands with his predecessor. "Nice to finally meet you."

Ross stood to leave. "Glad you're doing better Detective, I'll check in with you later."

Deakins watched him leave. "Is he always so formal."

"He's still getting used to everyone." Goren stated tiredly. Eames wondered if the day had been too much for him.

"How you feeling?" Deakins ventured.

"Good as long as the pain killers hold out." Goren said with a chuckle. He winced suddenly.

"Bobby?" Eames was on her feet.

"I'm OK." he said. "My rib hurts."

"you want me to get the nurse?"

"No."

"I heard what happened." Deakins said. "I can't believe that he killed his daughter and tried to blame her boss."

"He was trying to protect his wife." Goren defended.

"It's not your fault." Deakins continued.

Goren's eyes flashed. Could everyone read him that easy, or did she tell him? His eyes locked on the ceiling. "I don't want to talk about it."

An awkward silence fell on the room. Deakins broke it first by telling them about his kid's shenanigans. He stayed for an hour before going home.


	5. Chapter 5

Final Chapter

If you read this you must review :)

* * *

Finally he was home. Goren could not be more please as he unlocked the front door and held it open for Eames. He went in and dropped heavily into his bar stool, his chest was aching slightly. "Thanks for driving Eames."

She nodded, not trusting her words. Each night when she went to sleep, she saw the crime scene over and over. "You want some coffee?"

"Yeah, there's some instant in the cabinet." he rubbed his eyes. He was getting a headache from the lack of caffeine. The hospital wouldn't let him have any. "Hey Eames, I'm sorry I snapped at you in the hospital."

"It's ok." she brushed it off to easily.

"Eames,"

"No Bobby, You're not getting out of this one." she said. "We're talking, like it or not."

Goren placed his elbows on the counter as he rubbed his head. "I screwed up! Is that what you want to hear? I tried to talk him down, he shot me."

Eames watched him for a long moment. He wasn't lying, wasn't feeling guilt, so what was he hiding? As she reached for the coffee mugs, she heard him wince. She closed her eyes and saw a flash of Goren convulsing on the gurney.

He watched Eames bustle around the kitchen, preparing the coffee. In a few short minutes she set a cup in front of him. He couldn't miss the look on her face. "Are you OK?"

Eames averted her eyes. She started to nod, but changed her mind and shook it negatively.

He reached out and tentatively brushed his fingers across her cheek, wiping away a tear. When she didn't flinch at the contact, he pulled her into a hug. He said nothing, just held her as she cried.

"I keep seeing it over and over, you lay on the floor all bloody. Then convulsing in the ambulance, it was awful." she sniffed. "You could have died."

"But I didn't, I'm right here." Goren assured her. "Everything will be fine."

He closed his eyes, enjoying the embrace. He had a brief flash of the blond man. _Tell her how you feel._ He tucked his chin against the curve of his neck. Her hair smelled amazing. He caressed the soft strands. _Do it now._ He took a deep breath and went for it. "I love you Alex."

She stiffened in his arms but he didn't allow her to pull away. She lifted her head and looked him in the eye. "what did you say?"

Goren loosened his grip marginally, slightly afraid that she might run. Would she reject him? He didn't know if he could handle it if she did. He brought his hand up to her cheek. "I love you."

To his surprise, she said nothing. No questions, no denials, no speeches on how it could be wrong. Instead, she kissed him gently on his lips. He was so surprised he nearly pulled away. He felt her fingers in his hair and on the back of his neck. She broke away first, resting her forehead on his.

"I love you too Bobby." she whispered.

His heart literally skipped a beat when he heard those words. He kissed her again.

She chuckled as he sat back. "What made you finally say something?"

Goren looked in her eyes and knew he couldn't tell her everything. He smiled. "I had some encouragement."

"So what do we do now?" She asked him.

"How about a date?" He grinned, kissing her again.

* * *

**I hope everyone enjoyed this!**


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